Services

We offer the following services and cater to alternative culture businesses:

• Coding and development

  • Joomla!-based web-design and hosting

    • Joomla is the ultimate Content Management System (CMS) for websites of sizes. It is incredibly fleixble and easy to use, enabling users of average skill level to maintain and moderate pages. Functionality ranging from forums to image galleries can be easily added, and the completeness of the system out of the box greatly reduces development time. Best of all, it's open-source and developed by a dedicated community instead of a single large corporation, meaning bug fixes arrive sooner and there are zero initial software acquisition costs.
    • Joomla! can be used for projects as small as a shopping cart or product catalog or as large as a multi-domain integrated social networking community such as Hotbox Magazine.
    • A basic install with customized template starts at $599. Please email project details for a complete quote.

  • WordPress-based web-design and hosting

    • WordPress is the industry standard for blogs and other information-based websites. It is quite extensible and is second to none for prolonged content editing. While not nearly as community-focused as Joomla!, it is quite an effective solution for organizations needing a functional and informative web-presence that can be updated as needed by non-technical staff. It is also a very mature open-source project, constantly maintained by a very dedicated community.
    • We suggest Joomla! for websites much more complex than informational pages, however, WordPress is an excellent system for those wanting something simpler.
    • A basic install with customized template starts at $599. Please email project details for a complete quote.

  • Shopping cart hosting and implementation

    • We use either VirtueMart or Zen Cart, depending on project requirements. Both are open-source shopping cart systems, though VirtueMart requires Joomla! to run.
    • Initial install and customization starts at $999. Please email project details for a complete quote.

  • Custom PHP/MySQL programming

    • We do custom PHP/MySQL programming for a variety of different projects.
    • Please email project details for complete quote.

  • Inventory cataloguing and data entry

    • Our staff can do on-site product photography and cataloging for your business, whether it be for an online shopping cart or a printed product catalog.
    • Rates start at $25 an hour, please email project details for a complete quote.

  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

    • If Google can't find your website, it might as well not exist.
    • We can help optimize your site's pages to be more visible to Google and thus potentially increase their page ranking. SEO also entails the creation of sitemaps so that web technologies can better index and promote your content.
    • We can develop SEO as part of your project's development, or we can implement an SEO regime on a pre-existing website as a separate project. Please email project details for a complete quote.

• Marketing

  • Online

    • Multi-format content creation

      • Banner ads are still the industry standard for online promotion, despite advances in technologies like contextual links. Our team can design ads in all sizes and formats, whether as small as 100x100 pixel squares or as large as full-screen interstitial ads.
      • Please email for a complete quote.

    • Facebook and Social Networking promotion

      • Facebook is a significant development in how businesses market themselves online. Companies not yet advertising with Facebook are missing out on a very rich marketing experience that enables them to target potential customers with an astonishing level of accuracy.
      • Our social media professionals can help you run a successful and effective marketing campaign in this fairly-uncharted territory.
      • Please email campaign details for a complete quote.

    • Hotbox Network

      • We are the primary advertising agent for the Hotbox Network, a mixed-media alternative culture community based in Canada, catering to groups ranging from electronic music communities to cannabis legalization initiatives.
      • All our clients automatically receive exceptional discounts when advertising on the Hotbox Network.
      • Please contact us for more information.

  • Print

    • Whether a short-run newspaper advertising campaign or a recurring poster blast, we design colourful, eye-catching ads that stand out.
    • We compile all finished artwork into Adobe PDF format and clients are given the option of either printing through one of our partners or their own preferred printing company.
    • Please email us your campaign details for a complete quote.

• Consultancy

  • Canna-Business

    • Our organization loves working with canna-businesses and has published multiple white-papers relating to developing companies in this exciting new field.
    • We believe cannabis will be legalized in the United States within a decade. Companies dedicated to this culture now will soon be the leaders in a fast emerging global industry.
    • We offer extensive consultancy to canna-businesses wishing to be globally or nationally competitive in this burgeoning market and are needing direction for their promotional or organizational endeavours.
    • Please contact us for more information.

hairysquidcommunications

alternative culture media solutions